yogi bear up the cagire
Life President⭐
TOULOUSE v LILLE The Stadium 13th MAY 2009
Bid farewell to The Ranger and Boo Boo, came down the Cagire and off, en route for Toulouse, with enough goodies to keep me going for the day.
Had arranged to meet my SZ colleague outside Mac Do, on the Place du Capitole, in the centre of Toulouse. Although a bit younger than I thought I approached the chap standing waiting in the 'identifying' violet t-shirt......only to find him looking at me strangely and replying in Gallic rather than Estuary English. I appologised and backed off quickly. Then my eyes set on another person seated and wearing a blue and white Southend United scarf.........could this be who I was looking for?
Introductions made, we set off, in the wrong direction, towards the FNAC where I had agreed to buy a book for the wife. Arrived at the main road where the FNAC was situated and tuned left, in the wrong direction, for five minutes, before realising my error. eventually arrived at said store to find out that they had sold out the book which I was seeking. Right, time for a beer before the match.....set off for an Irish pub that brews a mean bitter......on the premises. Off we go, in the wrong direction, H starting to get a lttle concerned about my orientation..........didn't look convinced when I told him that a bear's nose is not as sharp in town as it is in the mountains (thinks....."has this bloke really lived in Toulouse?")..........anyway Saint Sernin is always worth a visit........even if it doesn't serve beer.
Eventually, no doubt to someone's great relief, we arrived at 'The Frog and Rosbif'. To someone who has a horror of going to watch a match, with the prime concern of knowing where the toilets are...........I ordered a half-pint............."We only sell pints," was the reply, in an accent that was more London than Toulouse. Looking at the blackboard I jokingly suggested that we could stay at the pub as they were showing the match live on TV.
Fifty minutes to kick-off.......emptied our glasses and off we went. Outside I suggested that walking to the ground would take us 35 minutes. "I think we'll take the metro," was the fairly immediate reply
......................can't understand why? Didn't even ask me in which direction we took the metro! Following a short trip and walk from the station, we approached the Stadium, situated on an island, in the middle of the River Garonne. Ambiance Violet, we were greeted by the fanfare band as we made our way to our entry.
Well placed, near the centre line, we sat with nearly 20000 others...
....including about 50 from Lille. Let's be honest........how many of you would make midweek trip to Inverness to see your team?
The predicted thunder storms held off ......and in truth, there was very little blood and thunder on the pitch considering how important the match was. A first half of very few chances, where both sides cancelled out each other and neither managed to really take control of the match ........H-T 0-0.
The second-half commenced at a rather quicker pace with similar opportunities falling to both sides .......... both players lofting their shots, when they had the time and space to do better. One or two good saves and and some timely defending kept the goals at bay. H pointed out that Sissoko seemed to be carrying an injury and it was a little surprising that he was not replaced virtually before additional time arrived. At one moment, H turned to me to suggest that Southend would give either of these sides a good game..........couldn't disagree with that.
Three minutes of additional time and that's your lot ......0-0. A result that certainly put to an end any lingering hope of either side reaching a Champions League place...........and on the performance, neither of these teams were near that level.
It was left to us to find a café in which to drown our sorrows(with coffee)......not any easy task, in the vicinity of the ground. All in all a very enjoyable day.........nice to meet H and we promised to meet up again ..................perhaps on more familiar territory ........just a pity about the match!!! In French match nul has a double meaning. On the one hand it signifies a draw but it also can be interpreted as a crappy match!
Bid farewell to The Ranger and Boo Boo, came down the Cagire and off, en route for Toulouse, with enough goodies to keep me going for the day.
Had arranged to meet my SZ colleague outside Mac Do, on the Place du Capitole, in the centre of Toulouse. Although a bit younger than I thought I approached the chap standing waiting in the 'identifying' violet t-shirt......only to find him looking at me strangely and replying in Gallic rather than Estuary English. I appologised and backed off quickly. Then my eyes set on another person seated and wearing a blue and white Southend United scarf.........could this be who I was looking for?
Introductions made, we set off, in the wrong direction, towards the FNAC where I had agreed to buy a book for the wife. Arrived at the main road where the FNAC was situated and tuned left, in the wrong direction, for five minutes, before realising my error. eventually arrived at said store to find out that they had sold out the book which I was seeking. Right, time for a beer before the match.....set off for an Irish pub that brews a mean bitter......on the premises. Off we go, in the wrong direction, H starting to get a lttle concerned about my orientation..........didn't look convinced when I told him that a bear's nose is not as sharp in town as it is in the mountains (thinks....."has this bloke really lived in Toulouse?")..........anyway Saint Sernin is always worth a visit........even if it doesn't serve beer.
Eventually, no doubt to someone's great relief, we arrived at 'The Frog and Rosbif'. To someone who has a horror of going to watch a match, with the prime concern of knowing where the toilets are...........I ordered a half-pint............."We only sell pints," was the reply, in an accent that was more London than Toulouse. Looking at the blackboard I jokingly suggested that we could stay at the pub as they were showing the match live on TV.
Fifty minutes to kick-off.......emptied our glasses and off we went. Outside I suggested that walking to the ground would take us 35 minutes. "I think we'll take the metro," was the fairly immediate reply
......................can't understand why? Didn't even ask me in which direction we took the metro! Following a short trip and walk from the station, we approached the Stadium, situated on an island, in the middle of the River Garonne. Ambiance Violet, we were greeted by the fanfare band as we made our way to our entry.
Well placed, near the centre line, we sat with nearly 20000 others...
....including about 50 from Lille. Let's be honest........how many of you would make midweek trip to Inverness to see your team?
The predicted thunder storms held off ......and in truth, there was very little blood and thunder on the pitch considering how important the match was. A first half of very few chances, where both sides cancelled out each other and neither managed to really take control of the match ........H-T 0-0.
The second-half commenced at a rather quicker pace with similar opportunities falling to both sides .......... both players lofting their shots, when they had the time and space to do better. One or two good saves and and some timely defending kept the goals at bay. H pointed out that Sissoko seemed to be carrying an injury and it was a little surprising that he was not replaced virtually before additional time arrived. At one moment, H turned to me to suggest that Southend would give either of these sides a good game..........couldn't disagree with that.
Three minutes of additional time and that's your lot ......0-0. A result that certainly put to an end any lingering hope of either side reaching a Champions League place...........and on the performance, neither of these teams were near that level.
It was left to us to find a café in which to drown our sorrows(with coffee)......not any easy task, in the vicinity of the ground. All in all a very enjoyable day.........nice to meet H and we promised to meet up again ..................perhaps on more familiar territory ........just a pity about the match!!! In French match nul has a double meaning. On the one hand it signifies a draw but it also can be interpreted as a crappy match!
